Coney Island's All-Time Top Rides
CONEY ISLAND’S ALL-TIME TOP RIDES (in alphabetical order) - AERIAL SLIDE (1894-1907) (slide-on pulley / zip line from Airship Tower to sand on beach) - AERIO CYCLE '''(aka Giant See-Saw) (1902-1907) '''235 ft. high ' ' (two 40-foot ferris wheels with four oblong 18-passenger cars on each wheel and these wheels were attached to the ends of a see-saw that revolved 360-degrees vertically) Cost: $40,000 Location: Steeplechase lawn (not dismantled until 1929) Builder: Frederick Thompson & Skip Dundy - AIR'' RACE''' (2010-Present) (six small airplanes revolve in a circle while twisting, turning and inverting at a lively speed and a maximum height of 30 feet) Builder: Zamperla Location: Luna Park # 2 - AIRSHIP TOWER (1894-1907) (revolving tower with blimp-like airships attached by cables that would lower to the ground to load and unload passengers and then rise to the top) Location: Steeplechase lawn - ASTROTOWER (aka Tower to the Stars) (1964-2008) ' '272 ft. high (a glass-enclosed donut- shaped platform climbed and rotated 360 degrees around a 272-foot high tower) Location: Astroland Designer / Builder: Willy Buhler (Switzerland) Cost: $1,672,000 - AUTO MAZE (1913-1914?) (This ride consisted of two tracks that crisscrossed repeatedly. Twenty full-size cars - ten on each track - were pulled at 5 mph by moving chains. The first Auto Maze was built in 1912 in Ocean Park, Ca. and was soon destroyed in a fire. There were a lot of problems with the mechanics of the chains and the builder soon gave up.) Builder: A.G. Reynolds - B & B MERRY-GO-ROUND (1932-Present) Original Location: Surf Ave. & West 10th Street (originally located in New Jersey in '''''1919; bought by New York City in 2005 for $1.8 million) (refurbished & re-opened in Steeplechase Plaza in 2013) - BMT TROLLEY CAROUSEL (1908-1940?) (moved to Central Park in 1951) - BALMER’S CAROUSEL (1875-1911) Coney Island’s first carousel'' Location: William Vandeveer Hotel Builder: Charles Looff ' - '''BARREL OF LOVE ' (1908-1964) Coney Island’s first revolving barrel 'Location: Steeplechase entrance in the Bowery - '''BEACON TOWER ''(1904-1911)' '('''''had 2 elevators) 375 ft. high ''' ''Coney Island’s tallest structure of all time'' Location: Dreamland Cost: $100,000 - '''BEN HUR CHARIOT RACE (1908'''-'1927?) (two-track racing coaster) Builder: William Mangels - '''BICYCLE CAROUSEL' (1908-1939) (the passengers actually supplied the power on this bicycle carousel) Location: Steeplechase - BIG'' DIPPER COASTER '(aka Wildcat & Comet) (1921-1945) '''52 ft. high Designer / Builder: Harry Baker - BOARDWALK FLIGHT (2012-Present) 60 mph 110 ft. high '''Builder: Skycoaster Inc. (Utah) ''Coney Island’s first skycoaster'' (a swing set-type ride where a cable slowly carries you up 110 feet then drops you in a freefall) Location: Luna Park # 2 - '''BOBSLED (1941-1974) 50-60 mph 65 ft. high *** length unknown *** ''' (bought from 1939-1940 World’s Fair) (actual trough track) Builder: Norman Bartlett - '''BOOMERANG (1939?-1951?) Location: Bowery & Feltmans - BOWERY SLIDE (aka Avalanche) (1908-1958) (30 ft. high slide) Location: Steeplechase -'' BREAK DANCE''' ('''1976-2008) Location: Astroland - '''BROOKLYN FLYER (aka Swings) (2010-Present) (an updated version of the popular “Swings” amusement - only these 12 two-seater swings rise 98.5 feet in the air) Builder: Zamperla Location: Luna Park # 2 - CATERPILLAR (1925-1964) Location: Steeplechase lawn (located on the Bowery for its first year) '''''world’s first Caterpillar ride Designer / Builder: Hyla Maynes (North Tonawanda, New York) - CEMENT MIXER (1911-1964) (revolving barrel) Location: Steeplechase entrance on Surf Ave. - CHANTICLEER CAROUSEL (1907-1963) (had only chickens & ostriches) Location: Steeplechase lawn (Luna Park prior to 1910) Builder: Frederick Savage - CHASE THROUGH THE CLOUDS COASTER (aka Mile Sky Chaser) (1910-1919, 1923-1944) (two-track racing coaster) 80 ft. high 3850 ft. long Location: Brighton Beach (moved to Luna Park in 1923) Builder: Arthur Jarvis - COASTING THROUGH SWITZERLAND SCENIC RAILWAY (1904-1911) (indoor scenic railway with refrigerated air) Location: Dreamland Builder: Thomas Ryan ' - CRAZY GHOSTS' (1947- c.1975) (spook house on Surf Avenue next to the Stillwell Avenue Subway entrance with a mechanical clown that never stopped laughing) - CREATION '''(1905-1911) (bought from ''1904'' St. Louis World’s Fair) Location: Dreamland ' ' (This was an indoor boat ride that glided backwards through 60 centuries [the world is about '' '' ''6000 years old as per the Bible''] along a 1000 ft. long canal that encircled the dome-shaped building. A moving panorama of the centuries would pass until the ride climaxed with the universe’s Creation.) - '''CYCLONE COASTER (1927-Present) 60 mph 85 ft. high 2640 ft. long Designer: Vernon Keenan Builder: Harry Baker Original Owners: Jack & Irving Rosenthal Cost: $100,000-$175,000 (sources greatly differ, but their first down payment was $100,000) - DODGE 'EM CARS'' ''(aka Scooters) (1921-1944) Location: Luna Park Builder: Max Stoehrer - DODGE 'EM'' CARS''' (aka Scooters) (1924-1964) Location: Steeplechase Pav. Builder: M. Stoehrer - DOUBLE WHIRL (1907- ? ) (Six small ferris wheels on a large round revolving base) Location: Luna Park - DRAGON’S CAVE (aka Fun in the Dark) (1941-1986) Loc: Bowery opposite the Bobsled Owner: Kaufman family (front display had a moving dragon’s head that emitted smoke) - DRAGON’S GORGE SCENIC RAILWAY (1905-1944) (indoor scenic railway with scenes in tunnels of the North Pole, Africa, Hades, etc.) (two dragon heads stood in the front of this ride) ('''''site of ''Luna ''Park's fatal 1944 fire) Location: Luna Park Builder: Fred Thompson & John Miller - DROP THE DIPS COASTER (aka Trip to the Moon) (1907-1930?) 60 ft. high world’s first high speed roller coaster which required a lap bar '' '' '' ''Location: Bowery (moved to Luna Park in 1924) Builder: Chris Feucht - ECLIPSE (2010-Present) Builder: Zamperla Location: Luna Park # 2 (passengers sit around a large circular platform that is attached to the end of a very tall pendulum; as the platform spins, the pendulum swings the riders about 50 feet in the air) - EL DORADO BUMPER CARS (aka Disco Bumper Cars) ( ? -Present) Location: El Dorado’s Arcade on Surf Ave. - EL'' ''DORADO CAROUSEL (aka Steeplechase Carousel) (1910-1964) (had three platforms - each turning at a different speed) Location: Steeplechase Pavilion (after one year in Dreamland) Cost: $150,000 - ELECTRO SPIN (2010-Present) (riders stand on the perimeter of a large spinning disc that rolls up and down a 50 foot high half-moon track) Builder: Zamperla Location: Luna Park # 2 -'' ENTERPRISE''' (1976-2008) Location: Astroland - FLIP-FLAP RAILROAD (1888-1902) 25 ft. high loop ''world’s first looping coaster ''Location: Sea Lion Park Builder: Lina Beecher (an independent ride that was moved to Sea Lion Park in 1895) - FLYING SCOOTER(S) (aka Flyers & Danglers) (1939-c.1964) (revolving aerial ride with nine flying tubs suspended on cables with steerable sails in the front which allowed you to fly up about 25 feet and dive down very quickly) Original Location: Surf Ave. & West 6th Street - FLYING TURNS '''(1934-1939) (actual trough / bobsled track) '' Coney Island's first bobsled ride ''Location: Steeplechase & Boardwalk '' '' Builder: John Miller & Norman Bartlett Cost: $50,000 - '''GADABOUT (1919- ? ) Builder: John Stock '' ''world’s first bumper cars'' (Max Stoehrer's Dodge 'em Cars quickly took over this market. ' ' '' Stoehrer’s cars were installed in Luna Park in 1921 and in the Steeplechase Pavilion in 1924.) ' - GHOST HOLE SPOOKHOUSE '(c.1950-Present) Location: West 12th Street (next to Polar Express) - GIANT RACER COASTER (1911-1926) (steel two-track racing coaster) ' ' Location: Dreamland (it survived the 1911 fire) Builder: Arthur Jarvis Cost: $180,000 - GRAVITY PLEASURE '''ROAD (1885- ? ) Builder: Philip Hinkle ''world’s first coaster to use a hoist / ''chain-lift to pull the cars up to the top of the first hill - '''GYROSCOPE' (aka Gyro Globe) (1947-c.1964) (riders sat around the inner perimeter of an approximately 25-foot high gyroscope and then the inner circle spun horizontally while the outer circle rolled from side to side reaching 60 degrees in each direction and turning the riders almost completely sideways) Location: West 12th Street near the Boardwalk - HAUNTED MANSION (aka House of Madness, Devil’s Pit, Spooks, etc.) (1929-1977) (dark ride / spook house underneath the Tornado roller coaster) - HELL GATE (1905-1911) (boat ride along a water flume to the gates of Hell; at the gates the boat got caught in a whirlpool and dropped down and followed a torturous course under the building) (site of'' Dreamland’s fatal 1911 ''fire) - HELL HOLE (aka Rotor) (c.1980-1995) (large spinning tube that spun so fast it pinned you against the wall as the floor fell below) - HEY-DEY '(1929-1964) (This was a revision of William Mangels’ 1914 Whip. The cars would whip around backwards when the riders in the rear seat would quickly lean to one side.) Location: Steeplechase Pavilion - '''HI-BALL '(1949- ? ) (two-seater cars rotated around a tower while the tower extended an additional 52 ft. into the air) Designer / Builder: Frank Hrubetz (Salem, Oregon) Cost: $13,500 - ''' HUMAN POOL TABLE (1910-1959) (24 large flat discs spinning in different directions and you had to walk across) Location: Steeplechase Pavilion - HUMAN ROULETTE WHEEL (1905-1960) (30 ft. revolving platform spun riders off) Location: Steeplechase Pavilion - HURRICANE (aka Saturn 6) (1947-Present) Location: West 12th Street - IRON TOWER'' ''(1878'''-'1911)' ''300 ft. high' (a skeletal observation tower with 2 elevators) Coney Island’s first mechanical amusement (bought from 1876-1877 Philadelphia Centennial Exposition; the tallest structure in the U.S. at that time) Location: between Dreamland & Steeplechase - JACK AND JILL SLIDE (1927- ? ) (riders sat on mats and were automatically taken to the top of a tall slide via a conveyer belt and dumped into the mouth of a spiral slide) -'' JUMBO JET (1967-2002) (steel coaster) '56 ft. high 2854 ft. long ' Designer / Builder: Anton Schwarzkopf Owner: Norman Kaufman - '''L.A. THOMPSON SCENIC RAILWAY (1897-1907) Location: Steeplechase Cost: $40,000 - L.A. THOMPSON SCENIC RAILWAY (1904-1922) Location: Luna Park (back of park near the Chutes) - L.A. THOMPSON SCENIC RAILWAY (1906-1911) Location: Dreamland (west side) - LEAP FROG RAILROAD (aka Stern’s Duplex Railroad) (1903-1911?) (This ride consisted of one single straight track. Both of the Leap Frog’s 32-passenger cars had a pair of half-moon rails on its roof that allowed the approaching car to glide over or underneath it. This was originally a Coney Island indepen- dent ride named Stern’s Duplex Railroad. It moved onto its own 400 ft. Dreamland pier in 1905 and was given its new name.) ' - LIMIT COASTER' (1925-1934) 55 ft. high 1300 ft. long Location: Steeplechase (near the boardwalk) Builder: John Miller - LINDY LOOP (1930-1941?) (cars rotated in vertical circles) Location: Luna Park -''' LOG FLUME''' (1966-2008) (bought from '''''1964-1965 World’s Fair) Location: Astroland - LOOP-O-PLANES (1935-c.1964) (apparently the single & double looping planes were both introduced in 1935) Designer / Builder: Lee Eyerly - LOOP THE'' ''LOOP COASTER (1901'''-'1910) '''35 ft. high loop '(2 parallel''' tracks) (eliminated the excessive G-force by using an elliptical loop) Location: Surf Ave. & West 10th Street Builder: Edward Prescott Cost: $400,000 - '''LOVE NEST ( ? -1923) (a gravity cart ride through a darkened tunnel) (had notorious “Fallen Angels” statuary of three nude girls on top of entrance) - MERRILL’S TOBOGGAN SLIDE COASTER '''(c.1896-c.1915) '''50 ft. high 30 mph Location: Surf Avenue (near Luna Park’s entrance) (“30 mph” - N.Y. Times, May 18, 1896; “50 ft. high roller coaster with curves” - N.Y. Times, June 6, 1904) - MOUNTAIN TORRENT COASTER (1906-1910) 80 ft. high (roller coaster through the Alps - track '' ''ran partially through water) Location: Luna Park Builder: Frederic Thompson - OCTOPUS (aka Spider) (1938?-2007) Location: West 12th Street - OLD MILL (1925-1952) (boat ride through tunnel) Location: Steeplechase - ORIENTAL SCENIC RAILWAY '' (1901/''1902?-1954) 2100 ft. long (originally had oriental scenery in its lighted tunnels) Location: Surf Avenue (east of Luna Park entrance) Builder: Lamarcus Thompson - OVER THE GREAT DIVIDE COASTER (1907-1911) 50 ft. high 2000 ft. long (aka Trip Over The Alps) (3rd rail electric coaster) Location: Dreamland Builder: Philadelphia Toboggan Company .. Cost: $100,000 - PANAMA SLIDE (aka Steeplechase Giant Slide) (1908-1964) Location: Steeplechase Pavilion - PARACHUTE JUMP (1941-1964) 262 ft. high '''(riders were lifted ''190 feet'') '''170 tons ' ' (bought from 1939-1940 World’s Fair) Designer / Builder: James H. Strong - PARATROOPER (1961-1964) Location: Steeplechase Pavilion - PIKE’S PEAK RAILWAY (1906-1911) (a trip up and around Pike’s Peak Mountain) Builder: Jackman & Thompson Cost: $100,000 '- POLAR EXPRESS '(c.1950-Present) Location: West 12th Street (across from Tilt-A-Whirl) - RACING DERBY'' CAROUSEL ''(1920'''- ? ) (horses moved back & forth in 6-ft. tracks) '' nearly 25''' mph''' Location: Steeplechase lawn Builder: Prior & Church - RAZZLE DAZZLE (aka Hoopla) (1891-1947) (a large wooden circle suspended by wires from a center pole & rocked by four men) Loc: Steeplechase (Steeplechase Pavilion 1908-1947) - RED DEVIL RIDER COASTER (1907-1927) (wooden coaster) Location: Bowery Builder: George Moran - RED MILL (1907-1933) (boat ride through tunnel) Location: Luna Park ' - RIDING THE RAPIDS' (1920- ? ) (a water flume ride that started with a two minute ride through a dark tunnel and then plunged down a 20 foot slide) - ROCKETS (1939?-1950?) 65 mph (flat circular ride with numerous small silver rocket ships around its perimeter that revolved at a 45-degree incline) Location: Surf Ave. & West 8th Street ' - ROCKET SHIPS' (1941-1964) (revamped Giant Swing with six 6-passenger aluminum rocket ships) Location: Steeplechase & Boardwalk - ROCKY ROAD TO DUBLIN COASTER (1906-1923) (electric 3rd rail coaster) Builder: William Mangels - ROOSEVELT ROUGH RIDERS COASTER (1906-1915) 60 ft. high (electric 3rd rail coaster) (A motorman could increase the power / speed both uphill and downhill but had to slow down during turns. This coaster jumped a curve track & killed four in 1910 and also jumped a curve track & killed two in 1915.) Location: Bowery Builder: William Mangels - ROUND-UP (1960-1964) Location: Steeplechase Pavilion - SCRAMBLER (1920-1962) (tubs on castors moved erractically as platform spun) - SERPENTINE RAILWAY (1885- ? ) 12 mph ' ''world’s first continuous track coaster '''Builder: Charles Alcoke - '''SHANGRILA HA HA' ' (aka Pretzel) (1958-1964) (a dark ride that had its 2-seater cars follow along a single steel rail in topsy-turvy fashion in just a 30 ft. by 30 ft. space) Location: Steeplechase (inside their old post office) - '''SHOOT-THE-CHUTES' (1895-1944) Location: Sea Lion Park / Luna Park world’s first Shoot-the-Chutes ride (rafts would shoot down a water slide which was curved'' ''up at the bottom so riders would fly out of their seats) '' '' Builder: Capt. Paul Boyton - SHOOT-THE-CHUTES (1904-1911) (two water slides side by side) Location: Dreamland - SILVER STREAK (1941-1964) 30 mph (circular flat ride on a 30-degree tilt with connected passenger cars revolving around the perimeter) Location: Steeplechase (in the front) - SLING SHOT (2011-Present) (two people are strapped inside a small skeletal ball which is catapulted 150 feet in the air at 90 mph via a gigantic sling shot) Location: Scream Zone Builder: Zamperla - SOARIN’ EAGLE COASTER (2010-Present) 25 mph 66 ft. high 1293 ft. long Coney Island's first suspended roller coaster (the cars are suspended underneath the tracks and riders lie flat on their stomachs to simulate the sensation of flying like a bird) Location: Scream Zone Builder: Zamperla - SPINOUT (2009) (a Round Up-style ride where the support arm is so animated that it can rotate horizontally as well as turn the riders completely upside down) Location: Dreamland # 2 (on previous Astroland site) - SPIRAL WHEEL SCENIC RAILWAY (aka The Top) (1917-1921) 3200 ft. long (a steel scenic railroad that slowly spiraled downhill as the ride’s entire base tilted with the weight of the train) Location: Luna Park - SPITFIRE (1949-c.1964) (ten planes attached through the nose and tail by a singular steel rod revolved at a 45-degree incline & pilots could perform 360-degree barrel rolls or fly straight and level by using a control stick) Location: Bowery Designer / Builder: Frank Hrubetz ' - SPOOK-A-RAMA' (1955-Present) (roof display featured a large green Cyclops head for many years) Designer / Builder / Original Owner: Fred Garms - STAR DOUBLE TOBOGGAN RACER (1904-1906) '' world’s first two-track racing coaster'' '''Location: Bowery Builder: Ingersol - '''STEEPLECHASE COASTER (2011-Present) 40 mph 65 ft. high 1194 ft. long (a roller coaster with horses instead of cars) Location: Scream Zone - STEEPLECHASE FERRIS WHEEL (1894-1964) 125 ft. high Coney Island's first ferris wheel '' (had 12 oblong cars that each held 18 people) Location: Bowery (moved to Steeplechase in 1905) - '''STEEPLECHASE HORSE RACE (1897-1964) The ''1897 ''track cost '$41,000, had six parallel tracks & was 1100 feet long. The 1908 track cost $100,000 and had two sets of four parallel tracks (one indoor & one outdoor). The outdoor track was approximately 1700 feet long and the horses were pulled by a cable to a height of 22 feet. (There was a ten foot drop to the wooden platform which was high enough to cause one fatality.) ' - SWINGS' (aka Flyers & Dangler) (1929-1964)' '(a large group of swings that were raised up in unison under a circular canopy and then revolved so quickly riders felt like they were flying) Location: Steeplechase Pavilion - SWITCHBACK RAILWAY (1884-1885) 6 mph 50 ft. high 600 ft. long '' world's first roller coaster'' ''' '' Builder: Lamarcus Thompson Cost: $1600 '' ' ''' '' ''(This was a straight track with hills and the passengers sat sideways in order to enjoy the view. At the end of the 600 feet, riders would have to get off while attendants pushed the train cars over a switch and up to a second 50 foot high peak.) - THUNDERBOLT COASTER'' ''(1925'''-'1982)' 86 ft. high *** speed & length unknown ***''' Designer: John Miller Builder: George Moran (His son Fred lived in a house under the ride.) - TICKLER (1906-c.1910) (rotating saucer-shaped cars going down an inclined plane through a maze of posts & rails) Location: Luna Park Builder: William Mangels Cost: $6,000 - TICKLER (2010-Present) (a generic “Wild Mouse” steel roller coaster with circular cars that spin) Location: Luna Park # 2 Builder: Zamperla - TILT-A-WHIRL (1927-Present) Locations: Multiple (including Steeplechase & West 12th Street) -''' TOP SPIN''' (aka Twister, Space Loop) (2007) Location: Astroland Designer / Builder: Huss Park Attractions (Germany) - TORNADO COASTER (1926-1977) 65 mph 71 ft. high '''(''55 foot drop) 2970 ft. long (aka The Bobs) Designer: Fred Church Builder: L.A. Thompson Co. Cost: $250,000 - TRABANT (1964) Location: Steeplechase Pavilion (an umbrella-type ride where riders sit around the perimeter as it spins and tilts up & down) - TRIP TO THE MOON, A '''(1902-1906) Builder: Frederick Thompson & Skip Dundy ''world’s first cyclorama to include movement of its passengers'' Loc: Steeplechase (Thirty passengers went on a large ship that would shake and rock to simulate flight. This ride was first introduced in ''1901'' at the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York.) - '''TUMBLE BUG (1928-1941?) (tub-shaped cars on a circular roller coaster track) - TUNNEL OF LAFFS (1948?-1982) (dark ride) Location: Bowery opposite the Thunderbolt (originally not themed as a spook house, but ultimately ended up with many of the figures from other Coney Island spook houses that had closed) - VIRGINIA REEL (1908-c.1964) (rotating tubs going down a twisting wooden trench-like track) '' world’s first Virginia Reel'' Designer / Builder: Henry Elmer Riehl Location: Bowery & West 12th Street (originally Luna Park) ' - WEBER’S CAROUSEL' (c.1920- ? )' '(This carousel was housed in a huge steel and glass en- closure on the Boardwalk at West 27th Street.) ' ' - WHIP (1914-Present) Builder: William Mangels '' world’s first whip'' - WITCHING WAVES (1907-c.1932) (a large oval course with a flexible metal floor that produced a moving wave-like motion which propelled small scooter-like cars forward while the riders steered) Location: Bowery & West 12th Street (Luna Park prior to 1910) Designer / Builder: Theophilus Van Kannel (also invented the revolving door) ' - WITCHWAY' (1924?- ? ) (a swing that whirled passengers in every possible direction) - WONDER WHEEL (1920-Present) 150 ft. high Builder / Original Owner: Alfred Garms (ferris wheel with cars that roll on roller coaster-style tracks) - ZENOBIO (2011-Present) (two people are strapped onto one end of a giant see-saw whose middle support stands 50 ft. tall, then this see-saw makes complete 360-degree vertical revolutions causing riders to go head-over-heals at 60 mph while 100 feet in the air) Location: Scream Zone Builder: Zamperla ' - ZIP COASTER' (aka Steeplechase Coaster) (1925-1964) 35-40 ft. high 2200 ft. long Builder: McKee & Miller ' - ZIP LINE' (2012-Present) 60 ft. high 400 ft. long '''(four zip lines / 25 second ride) Designer / Builder: Category 5 Productions Location: from the back of Nathan's to the Boardwalk - '''ZIPPER (c.1950-2007) Location: West 12th Street (next to Tilt-A-Whirl) Builder: Chance ' - ZIZ COASTER' (aka Mile A Minute Coaster) (1904-1908) 35 ft. high ''' Builder: William Mangels (electric 3rd rail coaster that ran through a grove of trees on the Feltman property) What are ''YOUR'' ''favorite past or present Coney Island rides? Tell us on the Comments Page of this website. (They don't have to be on the above list.) * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Rides are eligible by '''''popularity, longevity, creativity and/or ingenuity / technical advances. '' This is an interactive community website created by John E. Foy in 2013. Special thanks to Coney Island historian & author Jeffrey Stanton. We appreciate any ''corrections, updates, or '''additional ride statistics '''you might share with us.